Appeal over 74-year-old murder case

The case of a man who was hanged 74 years ago for the murder of his mother has been referred to the Court of Appeal.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said the conviction of William Knighton was the oldest case it had referred.

Knighton was convicted on 26 February 1927 of the murder of his mother Ada Knighton at their home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

He was sentenced to death at Derby Assizes.

Review agreed

Knighton's appeal against conviction was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal on 12 April 1927.

He was hanged on 27 April 1927, two months after his conviction.

Lawyers made an application to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in December 1999.

Now the Criminal Cases Review Commission has agreed to refer it back to the Court of Appeal.

A date for the appeal hearing has yet to be fixed.

The CCRC was set up in 1997 to review suspected miscarriages of justice.